When To Heal The Body With Yoga And When To Get Outside Help

When is trying to heal with yoga not enough?

Mckenna asks a great question. When do you continue to heal an issue in your body with yoga? And when is it time to get outside help?

She says this: “Many times in the Ashtanga practice, the advice with some sort of misalignment is to correct the physical imbalance via the practice. I myself am totally a believer in this, but I wonder where the line is between seeking a physical therapist and using the practice to correct the body.

I ask because I myself came into practice with the right leg out of whack. Pronation in the foot was causing knee pain, which eventually subsided but turned into hip tension. Now in drop backs I am also experiencing some tension in the low back, which I am assuming is SI related.

When I first started practicing, I was seeing a chiropractor to correct some of the issues. Ultimately though, I wasn’t comfortable with his approach to the body or the fact that his recommendation for everything was to stop practicing!

I am very gentle and patient with the parts of my body that have more tension, but I sometimes wonder if that is enough to avoid injury?”

Yoga has health and wellness benefits

One of the most common reasons that people come to yoga, is to heal an issue in the body with yoga. It’s also one of the most common benefits that people report. We ask a lot of our bodies every day. That’s true whether we do something more physical for our work like landscaping or construction, or whether we spend our day in front of the computer. Yoga can definitely help ameliorate many of the patterns that we acquire from our work, sports, and other activities. And, it just generally helps us feel better in our body.

Can we heal with yoga?

But, yoga is not a cure-all. There is not just “one” yoga practice. And, not all yoga practice focuses on the goal of physical therapy or even physical health and wellness. Yoga is a broad suite of tools with many applications. There are many situations where yoga is either not the right tool. It is not always sufficient to heal an issue in our body. So, what factors should we consider when we decide when to heal with yoga or seek outside advice?

Generally, it’s time to seek outside support when you hit the end of your own knowledge and your body issue isn’t improving. That said, let’s walk through some specific ways to think about what you’re experiencing This process can help you determine whether it’s time for some outside suggestions.

What kind of problem is it?

Are we talking about a short-term general muscle soreness kind of issue? Then yoga can contribute to helping stretch and hydrate tissues. The kind of muscle soreness we’re talking about here is when muscles feel sore after an intense bout of sport or other activity, for example. Or, your muscles might feel sore because you are training more intensely for a sport or event. If the muscle soreness has a dull, achy feel and is felt throughout the muscle, then it’s likely that yoga may help. But other therapies may also help.

But what if we’re talking about a sharp or nervy kind of pain, particularly if it’s happening outside of yoga? Then you could probably benefit from an additional assessment from an outside medical professional. Similarly, if the body issue is chronic then yoga may be one tool that supports your healing process. Or if it’s a recent acute issue, such as an accident or non-yoga-related injury, then yoga may also help. But it’s likely in both cases you would also benefit from an outside assessment of the issue. An appropriate yoga practice can help reduce pain from chronic issues such as recurring plantar fasciitis, shin splints, non-specific knee/shoulder/low back/neck pain. But these issues may also benefit from other therapies. A thorough assessment from the right wellness professional can help you decide which tools best fit your situation.

When does the problem occur?

What if the muscle soreness or other pain/irritation/discomfort is isolated to yoga and not something you experience at other times? Then it could probably be addressed by changing the yoga that you’re doing. Does the soreness or irritation only show up in certain postures or types of postures? Then it’s likely pointing to a need to modify something about how you approach those postures.

What if the issue is something coming from outside of yoga? Then you could probably benefit from an assessment from a wellness professional. That’s especially true if the pain or body issue is one that occurs all the time or is interfering with work or activities you do regularly.

Does it feel better, worse, or the same when you do yoga?

If the body issue feels better when you do yoga, then you have kinesthetic feedback from your own body that suggests you may be able to heal with yoga. Body issues that don’t feel better or feel worse during yoga could at a minimum benefit from changing how you are practicing yoga. They could also probably benefit from an assessment from a wellness professional.